Blood and Iron
by Ziggurat Rolsovitch
Summary: AU:In a war between nations, three wanderers are alone in the middle. Trying to stay together and survive, the friends will do whatever it takes to survive and protect one another. Is it enough or will the war tear them apart? Very strong T
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own this.

Heh, got the idea for another AU since there are so many canon ones. Enjoy my muse.

XxXxX

Explosions. Explosions and machine gun fire filled the air. The air had a heavy weight about it, pressing down on the three teenagers trying to avoid it all. They'd been avoiding it for years, since they were kids in fact.

Britannia invaded Japan, but they were still holding them off with the help of the Chinese Federation. To avoid the draft and leaving his sister alone, Lelouch chose to go into hiding. And his best friend Suzaku, out of loyalty stayed by his side.  
>Although he knew that Suzaku had wanted to fight, he stayed. He wasn't about to leave his friends alone.<p>

He knew they had to hurry across this field. It was open and only provided the cover of what was left of houses. All the artillery destroyed this town.

"Lelouch, hurry up!" Suzaku shouted in warning. He had was right behind him, since he had to carry Nunnally, Lelouch's sister. She was blind and crippled since the first time he met her, so it left them no choice.

"Right!" Lelouch nodded, but he really didn't want to get too far ahead of them. He wanted to stay close even if it was dangerous. A explosion went off right next to Suzaku and Nunnally. "Nunnally! Suzaku!" Lelouch screamed.

Suzaku cried out, trying to still hold onto Nunnally as he wiped the stinging dirt and powder from his eyes. He felt Nunnally tighten her arms around his neck.

"Suzaku? Are you okay? Suzaku?" She asked in fear.

"It's okay, Nunnally! Don't be afraid." He stood up with effort. "Lelouch! Keep going!" He started in a run as fast as he could go with the extra weight of Nunnally.

As much as Nunnally could hear, even with all the explosions and gun fire. She could hear Suzaku wheezing like she never had before.

"Suzaku… if I'm too much… maybe you should just-" She started, but he cut her off in anger at her words.

"Don't ever say that! We're going to stick together no matter what!" He knew he had to hold it together for them at least until they were safe. The air raid sirens were going off and that just made things worse, if it were at all possible, he quickened his pace. "Lelouch, hurry up!"

They slid down into a hold in the ground that led into the basement of an old church. Only the underground remained, anything above was gone and mud and dirt and war-torn land.  
>Right as they got inside a bomb hit right outside of where they just were, covering the entrance with dirt and bricks.<p>

It was pitch black, before Lelouch stuck a match. He quickly searched around the basement, looking for a candle or lantern or something. Nothing so far, the match went out. He swore. Was this how Nunnally felt?  
>He struck another match and finally found a box full of candles stored away. He lit one and set it up by the floor, and lit another one to make his way back to Suzaku and Nunnally.<p>

"H-hey… L-Lelouch… would you take Nunnally? I'm a little tired." Suzaku said, still panting.

"Yeah, hold on." Lelouch said, as he helped Nunnally away from Suzaku. He removed his coat and set it down for her to sit on so she didn't get cold on the cement floor. He turned back towards Suzaku and almost dropped the candle. "Su-Suzaku you're-"

Suzaku quickly cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips, while looking at Nunnally. He slowly let his hand drop, before leaning his head back against the wall.  
>Lelouch understood that his friend didn't want her to know that he had been hurt. It was upset her and she really didn't need to be anymore upset then she was.<p>

"So… I was thinking… maybe we should split up…" Suzaku suggested as Lelouch quickly pressed his hand to his side, but Lelouch gasped in distress as the blood seeped through his fingers. It appeared when that projectile went off next to them it shot shrapnel that caught Suzaku in the side.

He was silently telling him that he wasn't going to make it.

"Suzaku, no way." Lelouch said.

"Big brother is right, Suzaku. You said we would stick together no matter what!" Nunnally said and Suzaku sighed.

"I'm trying." He replied to her, reaching out his hand and taking hers. She squeezed his hand reassuringly, but Lelouch saw his eyelids lowering.

Lelouch leaned down close and whispered so Nunnally wouldn't hear. "Do not fall asleep. Keep your eyes open."

"I'm trying." Suzaku repeated, his shoulders slumping as he said it. Lelouch quickly grabbed Suzaku's jacket and shook him.

"Damnit, Suzaku if you don't stay awake so help me God." He left the threat hanging in the air. "I'll stay up with you…"

"Let's see… who stays up longer… math freak." Suzaku laughed, but then winced and held his side.

"You're on… fitness nut." Lelouch smiled sadly.

XxXxX

"Suzaku!"

Lelouch jerked awake, realization striking as well as fear. He quickly lit a match and grabbed another candle, before checking on Suzaku. He quickly checked for a plus, praying everything was alright.

"Lelouch?" Nunnally asked, he had woken her up when he screamed. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine."

"Suzaku?"

"He's asleep, Nunnally." Lelouch replied quietly.

"Who won in staying up later?"

"Suzaku did." Lelouch sighed deeply and sat back on his heels, digging his palm into his eye. "Nunnally, we're going to have to dig ourselves out of here soon. We can't stay."

"Can I help at all?"

"No. You just sit there. Everything will be okay. I'll take care of you." Lelouch grabbed Suzaku's shoulder and shook him lightly. With a startled gasp he woke up. As soon as he'd gotten him up, Lelouch silently searched around the room, before he found what he was looking for.

He set the box besides Suzaku, where he saw red letters on it and a red cross. Lelouch then picked up a large rock, before he balanced it on a crate.

"Suzaku… I'm going to need help with this one. It's heavy."

"Lelouch?" Suzaku asked in confusion.

"Yeah, just grab that end." Lelouch said, opening up the box and pulling out some gauze. He looked at Nunnally and Suzaku realized what he meant. "Alright, get ready." Lelouch told him, lifting the Suzaku's shirt up and offering his arm to bite.

He wasn't comfortable with it, but when Lelouch gripped the sharp piece of metal he gave up and bit into the fabric. This was going to hurt like hell.

"It'll be heavy. On three. One… two… three!" Lelouch pulled the shrapnel and Suzaku yelled, so Lelouch yelled with him to cover it up in anyway possible, while kicking the rock over. It made a loud thud it and probably seemed to Nunnally like they had lifted a heavy rock and gotten it out of the way.

Another one of Lelouch's tactics that worked brilliantly, because she didn't suspect a thing. Lelouch quickly pressed the gauze to the wound, before digging around for a needle and thread. He had to clean it then stitch it up before he did anything else.

Once he finished with that, he wiped the blood off his hands. Suzaku's blood. It made him really cringe to have his best friend's blood on his hands. He sighed then and dug through their backpack and pulled out a water bottle.

"Nunnally, are you hungry?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes, a little." Nunnally answered meekly.

"Suzaku, how about you? You better have some water."

"I can't…" Suzaku whispered. "Lelouch… was there anything for the pain? Because… I feel like I'm gonna…" He didn't finish before he leaned over and threw up.

"Oh… Suzaku… hold on let me check!" Lelouch said, quickly digging through the aid kit. His eyes grew wide when he realized it was only a few basic things in there. There was, but it wasn't strong enough for what his friend needed it for.

"Brother… is Suzaku okay?" Nunnally asked.

"Fine, Nunnally. He's just a little sick. Don't worry… I… I'll get us out of here. You just rest and get better, Suzaku." Lelouch said, a bit of nervousness invading his voice. He was getting desperate. He couldn't let his best friend die here. Even if the wounds were stitched… there was still a big chance of infection.

He went to work digging them out, fueled by the need to protect his sister and best friend.

XxXxX

The next morning, Suzaku watched his two friends sleeping. He narrowed his eyes, before reaching for a bandaged and gritting his teeth as he wrapped it tightly around his wounds and tied it. Lelouch was stirring slightly.

"Lelouch, let's get moving soon, huh?" Suzaku said, getting up carefully, trying desperately to avoid jarring his wounds.

"You don't want to wait one more night?" Lelouch asked.

"We can't afford to get caught. The longer we stay in the middle of a battle field the longer we risk exposure. You know that. Don't let your emotions get in the way of our survival."

"I'm not letting my emotions get in the way! I won't let any of us get killed! We're going to stick together! You said it yourself."

"Save yourself and Nunnally."

"I won't leave you leave you alone! Suzaku… we may not be related by blood, but you've become a brother to me. I can't leave you. Nunnally won't."

"Fine, but if I slow you down."

"Fine."

"Lelouch… are you and Suzaku fighting?" Nunnally asked, sitting up and pressing a hand over sightless eyes.

"No, we're not fighting." Lelouch said quickly, kneeling to help her up. He gathered up a bunch of candles, the aid kit and found some extra sheets to use for blankets that he stuffed into their backpack, before Suzaku took it from him.

He didn't really want his injured friend carrying that heavy bag, but he knew he couldn't carry his sister and a heavy bag. He would have to allow Suzaku to carry it for now.

The sunlight outside was bright after being in the dark so long, it may have seemed fine, but it had rained recently and they knew they'd have trouble getting through the mud.

Lelouch could make it, even carrying his sister, but he was worried about Suzaku making it. They made their way across the abandon trenches, trudging through knee high mud and not only was it hard to get through, it was also freezing cold.

He had to pause and look back, waiting for his friend to catch up with them. He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Lelouch? Why are we stopping? Is something wrong?" Nunnally asked nervously.

"No. Nothing's wrong. Just taking a few minutes." He said, trying to cover up everything. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do to lie to her, but it would break her heart if she knew the truth. The possibility that their friend may die.

Suzaku finally caught up to them and glared at Lelouch, but he didn't stop walking. He was angry. Angry at Lelouch, angry at himself. He didn't want to slow them down anymore then they were.

This situation wasn't good. He already planned to leave while everyone was asleep the next time they set up camp. It was the only way. He would die alone, but it would save his friends. He froze mid-step and held out a hand.

"What is it?" Lelouch asked.

"Wait… it's a mine-field."

"How can you tell?"

Suzaku simply pointed to the metal sticking up in the ground, uncovered by heavy rains. He removed the backpack of supplies.

"Don't across come until I tell you to."

"What? What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find a path through it."

"No!" Lelouch yelled, if he weren't carrying Nunnally he'd have punched him, injured or not.

"Please, don't go, Suzaku." Nunnally asked softly. He sighed and took her in his hand gently.

"I'm sorry, but there's no other way. We can't go back the way we came." He let go of her hand, but she was reluctant to let go of his. He was about to start off towards the field when Lelouch's voice stopped him again.

"Listen to, Nunnally, please."

"It's. too. late." Suzaku said firmly, lifting his shirt slightly over the wound to reveal the bandages were already soaked through with blood and infection.

"It's not over yet, Suzaku." Lelouch told him, trying anything to talk him out of this. He soon realized it was useless. "Just be careful."

Lelouch felt his heart rate pick up in terror as he watched his best friend go across the field, climbing over barbed wire.

"Brother… Suzaku must be really sick. His hand was really warm." Nunnally whispered over his shoulder.

"I know. We need to get him medicine." He replied, and sighed in relief when Suzaku finally made it across safely. He started to come back.

"Alright, I've found a path through, stay right behind me and we'll be fine." He wiped the sweat from his eyes with a muddy sleeve.

Lelouch walked very slowly behind Suzaku. He was terrified for their safety, especially Nunnally's, but he trusted Suzaku. He wouldn't do this if they would die for certain, but his heart was beating a thousand miles an hour.  
>He watched Suzaku stop and step down the barbed wire so he could get across easier, since he was carrying Nunnally after all.<p>

Lelouch thanked God when they made it across safely. The were right on the edge of a heavy wooded area. It would provide them plenty of cover for now.

On the off chance they ran into any soldiers, they would have no choice but to kill them. They could not get involved in this war. And who knew what either side would do if they found them?  
>They'd probably kill him, do things to Nunnally and either recruit Suzaku and force him to fight or kill him as well for adding a Britannia.<p>

Suzaku stopped again to wipe more sweat from his eyes, before starting forward a few steps.

"I… know where we're at." He told them. "A… a… there are a few abandon fishing shacks around here by the rivers. I use to hide out from my Father around here."

"Close?" Lelouch asked, quickly stepping right behind his friend.

"Yeah. Really close… just… around the corner…" Suzaku slurred, stumbling forward. He didn't fall though, just kept walking.

Through blurred vision, he could see it right on the edge of the water around the hill. Only a little father and he could rest, but… something… wasn't right.

Lelouch's eyes widened when Suzaku stumbled once more, but this time he collapsed and ceased all movement. He lost composure at the sight of his friend falling.

"Suzaku!"

"Lelouch, what's wrong?" Nunnally asked, fear entering her voice.

"Nunnally… listen very carefully. Right in front of us is an old fishing shack. I'm going to set you up there and come back for Suzaku? Will you be alright for a little bit?" She nodded. "Good."

"Brother, is he alright?"

"I don't know." He answered truthfully.

XxXxX

TBC...

Review and let me know if I should continue.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own this.

To my reviewer... the only one reading this. I'm not sure if Zero will show up or not, possibly. It's hard to say right now, since I'm not sure where I'm going to take this story.

XxXxX

Once inside, Lelouch quickly pulled out the blankets from their backpack, wrapping them around Suzaku tightly. He needed to work quickly.

"Nunnally, can you hold him and keep him warm while I check everything out?" Lelouch asked.

"Of course." She stated and Lelouch grunted as he pulled his heavy friend over to her. He laid Suzaku down and Nunnally pulled him closer, lying his head in her lap and lying an arm around him as well.

"I'm going to heat some water."

"Okay." Nunnally listened to her brother's movements around the room, before he finally came back over to them. "What's wrong with him?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Lelouch said, reaching for Suzaku's hand. He then checked his pulse and went down to the wound. The veins around the wound were black, this was bad. "He's burning up. His joints are inflamed as well. His skin is turning yellow, so it's affecting his liver."

Nunnally quickly reached for her brother's hand, which was shaking. She heard a muffled sound and she knew he was probably to the point of crying. In fact, she herself felt like crying right now. They couldn't lose him, they just couldn't. he'd been with them for so long now. They had made it through so much to fail now.

"Do you know what it is?"

"Yes, I do. It's as I fear. He has septicemia."

"Blood poisoning…"

"Yes." Lelouch sighed deeply, grabbing a handful of his own hair in stress. "It must be treated. The longer I wait there is a 7% rise in mortality. I have to get antibiotics and fluids… and I'm going to need it fast, there was an abandon hospital we passed, but…"

"You can't carry us both." Nunnally finished for him. "I'll stay here and take care of him… if you could get what he needs."

"That's dangerous."

"It may be, but… is fear really worth, losing him over?" She asked and her brother was silent. "Go. I can take care of things."

"It can affect his brain, kidneys, heart and lungs… if it does…" Lelouch pulled out the gun he had and set it in her hand. "Nunnally… if it affects his brain… don't let him suffer."

"Lelouch… how did he get it?"

"He… we've been lying to you." He admitted to her quietly. "When that mortar hit… a piece of shrapnel hit him. It must have gotten infected with all that dirt it picked up."

"I see…" She replied and he could tell she was upset with them for lying.

"And if he suffers?" Lelouch asked, sighing deeply and looking down.

"I'll… do what I have to."

"I hate to put such a heavy burden on your shoulders, but… I'm left with no choice. I'm going now."

"Be careful."

"I will." Lelouch said. As he closed the door behind him, he tucked a knife in his belt, looked both ways and headed off, he gasped as he narrowly avoided some old rotten boards that lead to a deep well. He looked down past the boards and winced. He was lucky he didn't fall.

Nunnally leaned down and pulled Suzaku tighter against her, trying to will him to live and praying that he would hold out until Lelouch got back.

Lelouch started into a sprint. He had to be as quick as his body allowed him to be. Everything was on the line now. Everything would be lost if he failed.

XxXxX

In all honesty, even though she wasn't sure if she could do it, Nunnally knew that she had to take care of Suzaku… and… if she had no other choice, but to end his suffering… kill him.

Outside it had started to thunder and flash lightning. It made her worry for her brother out there all alone in the dark.

She felt Suzaku stirring slightly and she knew that he was in pain by the way his muscles locked up and he stopping moving all together. Reaching down she stroked her fingers through his hair, in a hope that it may comfort him in some way. In a hope that maybe it would distract him from some of his pain.

Suzaku glanced up at her from the corner of his eye, to find Nunnally with her brows knitted together in worry as she tightened her grip around him.

"Where ar…" He paused and barely stopped the vile from rising in his throat. "Nunnally… where are we?"

"In one of the old fishing shacks. You're very sick… you should go back to sleep."

"What about you? Where's Lelouch, I've got to-" He struggled to get up, but his joints were locked up. He really couldn't move without extreme pain.

"Lelouch went to get you medicine."

"What? Where? He'll get himself killed! He left you alone as well!"

"Please, calm down, Suzaku. I agree with Lelouch. I don't want to leave you."

"You should have left me out there." He resigned himself to lying there and closed his eyes for awhile while she brushed sweat dampened hair from his eyes. "Why can't I move?"

"You have inflammation inside. All your joints are locked because of it." She reached for the bag, tying to find it, before she felt his hand over hers. "Aspirin takes inflammation down, but… I'm not sure if it will work with this. It could lower your fever too, but… I don't know how much we have left either."

She felt him shift, even though she knew it caused him pain, he sat up and dug through the bag, before finding what he needed.

"How many?"

"Try two for now… I don't know if it will help or not. So just be careful."

"Do you need anything?" He finally asked after a short silence.

"No. I should be asking you that. Please, lie back down. You need all the rest you can get, your body is attacking itself from the inside."

"That's bad, huh?" He asked, inching over to sit besides her again and lying a head on her shoulder. He was in so much pain, he just wanted to be held right now. She must have sensed his need, because she did hold him and whisper soothing words into his hair.

He squeezed his eyes shut and sobbed into her shoulder. All composer lost. All the built up stress and anger and pain, he let it all out by crying. Nunnally sighed deeply and tightened her grip on Suzaku, hoping that her brother hurried with that medicine.

XxXxX

Lelouch finally arrived at the town he remembered from earlier. Now all he had to do was avoid any soldiers and reach the hospital.

Ducking behind a building, he held his breath and peaked around the corner. All his breath almost escaped when he ducked back, almost being seen by a Britannia soldier. Quietly, he stepped through the shattered window into the building and dropped to lie on his belly below the window.

As expected, the group of soldiers started to pass. They couldn't see him unless they were really looking and knowing Britannia soldiers, they would choose to be lazy and pass on. Lelouch had to ignore the glass digging into his palms as he laid there.

A few cuts were better then being caught. Once the soldiers passed, he quickly went out the other side of the building and sprinted down the street towards the hospital. He pulled the doors open since there was no power and climbed through them, before looking around the abandon and trashed hospital waiting room.

Knowing he had to be careful in here, due to the possibility of the building being unstable, he slowly made his way done a hallway. He was no use to anybody if he was dead. It took awhile to navigate the winding halls, but he finally found a storage room.

The first thing he did was find a bottle of disinfectant and dump it over his hands. It'd do no good if he got sick with some terrible infection. He searched around and grabbed a bottle, reading the prescription on it, but set it back down knowing it was of no use to him. In the state he left him in, Suzaku would be in no shape to take pills. He needed an IV drip.

Just as he picked up a syringe and some steroids, he heard a clicking sound behind him. Lelouch froze eyes wide. No… not now… he'd almost made it.

"Hands up!" A man shouted and he did as asked. The man took the bottle and needle from him, tossing it to the floor. "What are you? Some ort of junky?"

"No. My friend… he's sick." Lelouch said. "Please… I have to get back to them."

"I don't think so." The man said, grabbing his hands and tying them behind his back. "You're coming with me."

"No! He'll die! My sister is with him as well!" Lelouch struggled against the man, but with his hands tied and a gun on him, it proved futile. "Please! I have to get back!"

XxXxX

Nunnally watched Suzaku sleep. He was only getting worse and she was terrified that she may actually have to put an end to his life, because he was suffering terribly.

She was trying to keep their friend alive until Lelouch came back, but the other problem was, that she wasn't sure if he was coming back.

"Nunnally…" Suzaku said, obviously awake now. "Lelouch… gave you the gun, right?"

"I won't. I won't do it." She told him firmly, shaking her head as well, letting long honey hair fall into her face.

"I'm… not asking you to. Give me the gun…"

She immediately understood what he meant. "No. Lelouch will come back. My brother always comes back. Just wait and see." She urged, reaching down to tangle finger in his sweat soaked hair. "We… we need to get your fever down… can you get any more aspirin down?"

"I… can try." He sat up and took the pills, hoping it wouldn't come back up, before Nunnally pulled him back to lie down and place a cool rag over his forehead. Lelouch had left a bowl of water close by just for this type of emergency. He reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Don't cry."

She took his trembling hand and held it there. "I'm sorry, Suzaku…I can't… help it."

She cried silently and he wished he could get up, or move and hold her. Comfort her and tell her everything was already, but he couldn't. Nunnally held his hand and as he fell back into a sleep, she remembered back before the war…

Before the terror… before the sadness…

…

It was earlier spring and Lelouch and Suzaku were playing some sort of game from Suzaku's country called Shiritori that she didn't know or understand fully.

"Sakura." Suzaku said for the starting word, probably because of the large Sakura tree they were sitting under. It's flowery scent filled the air around them.

"Rajio." Lelouch replied easily.

"Onigiri." Suzaku yawed, lying back with his arms behind his head.

"Risu."

"Sumou."

"Udon."

"Udon loses." Suzaku told Lelouch frowning, before he sat up to look at his confused friend/enemy. They were still in between.

"You're making that up."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Here then, read the book!" Suzaku told him, tossing the rule book at the other boy with a grin. Lelouch frowned and glared at Suzaku after reading it.

"Well… you failed to tell me that part. So this round doesn't count." Lelouch said, smiling in victory and this time it was Suzaku's turn to frown.

"Pst. Fine. Sore loser."

"You're such a megalomaniac."

"No, I'm not. Wait a minute…. Nunnally what does that mean?" Suzaku asked. And Nunnally set a hand on her chin.

"I think it means a really good friend." She suggested, trying to keep the peace. Though she doubted it would help much.

While Nunnally loved her brother and being around him, she much enjoyed spending time with Suzaku as well. She liked how he got excited, how he didn't just brush things off and spout off about some sort of logical thing she couldn't under stand like Lelouch did.

When Suzaku was in class with Master Todoh, he was calm, attentive, serious, not willing to miss a single second of class. Around her, he was playful and teasing and thoughtful and all around adorable even if she couldn't see him.  
>Lelouch usually fell asleep in class, not because he wasn't smart, it was just because he knew everything already and it left nothing for him to learn. So he slacked off.<p>

The funniest thing about Lelouch was when he attempted to tell a joke. Out of all the things her brother was good at… joking just wasn't one of those things.

Yes, Suzaku was very unlike Lelouch, her brother was sharp and quick-witted, while Suzaku was gentle and a little naive. It was a wonder the boys got along at all.

But of course, in a way they both relied on Lelouch to be the brains of the operations. He always knew what to do and his knowledge made the two feel safe.

"That's not what it means." Lelouch said, scoffing and crossing his arms. Suzaku frowned even more.

"Come on, Nunnally! Tell me."

"An excessive greed for power over other people." She replied and heard her brother laughing suddenly, probably at Suzaku.

"Ha! I knew it was something rude. You better run."

"No way! You'll beat me only because you're a fitness nut!"

"That's why I suggested the word game, math geek!" Suzaku argued, exasperated, yet at the same time trying to hold in laughter. "What does Nunnally want to do?" He finally asked, giving up.

"I would like to just sit and smell the flowers." She replied meekly.

"Then that's what we'll do. Good idea." Lelouch laughed and smiled at his younger sister.

She remembered it as their last summer together before the war and… if she'd known that it would be their last carefree summer… she'd have asked to sit there and just spend time together more often. If she died, she'd name that as her only regret.

XxXxX

Lelouch struggled against the bindings that held his hands together as he glared at the man in front of him, who seemed confused on what to do with him. If he kept this up, he probably tip the chair he was in over.

"So you're only here for medical supplies? You have noting to do with the army?" The man asked, before glaring at the other man that had originally captured Lelouch.

"No. I swear. I know how this looks, but please… I have to get back." Lelouch begged and the man sighed.

"You're a Britannia. It's clear as day…" He sighed again. "I'll talk to our leader."

"Ohgi, are you serious?" The other man asked loudly.

"I see no reason why not to help him, Tamaki." He replied, glancing back at Lelouch, before setting a hand on Tamaki's shoulder and starting out the door.

A few moments later the door opened and Lelouch stared up at the leader of the group, very surprised by the woman standing before him. He swallowed hard when she chocked a gun and aimed it at him.

XxXxX

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer; I don't own this, but I am sure you know that by now.

Cool, thanks for the reviews guys. I'm glad you like it. I updated super fast for you. Okay... I'm unsure about this, but after this next chapter... let me know if I need to make it rated M because of this part. IDK. Nothing graphic, but... still.

XxXxX

A few moments later the door opened and Lelouch stared up at the leader of the group, very surprised by the woman standing before him. He swallowed hard when she chocked a gun and aimed it at him.

The gun fired several times and Lelouch yelled, muscles frozen in fear, before he looked to his left to find all the bullets in the wall, rather then in him.

"What was that for!" He asked loudly.

"I think he passed my test. If he were a Britannia spied he'd have cracked by now." The woman said, tossing her long, greenish hair back behind her shoulder as she stepped forward. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lelouch. All I want is some medication for my friend. He's dying for God's sake! Are you so cold that you don't care!"

"My group and I are just trying to survive. The same as you. This is our hospital, we were the only ones that stayed after the war started." She replied, sitting in the chair across from him. "What is your friend sick with?"

"I strongly believe that it's septicemia."

"And if you have diagnosed him wrong, he'll die."

"I know that… all I need is antibiotic and an IV and I'll leave." Lelouch exhaled in exasperation. "Please, just… please."

"How long has he been sick?"

"Days…"

"Then he has a very little chance of surviving. You seem smart enough to know that much." The woman said.

"I'll never know if I don't try. I'm not willing to give up on him. Not, yet."

"You're that desperate?" She asked, before sighing herself. "Okay. I know what it is to lose somebody, so I'll help you, but if he has any chance at all, you're going to have to bring him back here where we can take care of him properly."

"You'll do that? Thank you… I… I'm in your debt."

"Ohgi, Tamaki… you go with him and bring his friend back here."

"Yes, C.C-sama." Ohgi replied, bowing briefly.

"What? Is this some kind of joke?" Tamaki asked.

"This is no joke!" C.C said standing and slapping him across the face. "You will obey my orders or you can leave. A man's life is at stake!"

"Fine! But if this guy dies it's not my fault!"

"Then you better move VERY quickly." She ordered, before walking out of the room. Lelouch looked at these two, before the man named Ohgi untied him and helped him stand.

"You lead and we'll fallow." He said and Lelouch nodded.

XxXxX

Nunnally sighed and pressed her lips together in a thin line. Her brother had been gone for two days and Suzaku was much worse. Slowly she felt for the gun hidden under the blankets. She sat there and sat there, contemplating what she should do.

She was trapped in this situation, not knowing if her brother was alive or dead. At this point, she didn't know if she was saving Suzaku's life or prolonging his suffering.

With a hand on the gun, she considered what was best. When lightning streaked across the sky and thunder rumbled softly, the choice was made for her. She let go of the gun and wrapped the blankets tighter around Suzaku. He would have to make it, he just had to.  
>Like rain washing and cleaning the earth, this sickness could be cleaned and washed away as well.<p>

Nunnally heard the door open and wished she could see.

"Lelouch!" She asked.

Suzaku peaked one eye open, but dreadful pain or not, he sat up and put himself in front of Nunnally. He needed the gun, but he didn't know where it was. He felt Nunnally grab his arm in worry.

"Well, well, well." A voice said, and two sets of heavy boots walked across the floor. "What do we have here? A Japanese deserter?"

"I'm not… in the army… I… don't have anything… to do with the war." Suzaku told him, he didn't want to make any sudden movements for the gun or it was over. His vision was blurred and he had trouble seeing the men.

"Soldier or not, our orders are to take in any Japanese." A second voice said.

"Please, don't hurt him." Nunnally asked from behind Suzaku, as she gently laid a hand over his shoulder. "He's sick."

"Hey… she's not-" The first man started to say, but the second man held his hand up with a smirk as he stepped forward.

"Sorry, but… all Japanese are to be apprehended." The second soldier said, Nunnally could tell he was Britannia by his accent, but right now the only thing she was worried about was Suzaku. She knew that he shouldn't be sitting up like this.

"Hey… you know… it's only one and I don't feel like dragging him all the way back to camp. Let's just kill him."

Nunnally felt the man grab Suzaku, but he was fighting back as much as his aching and inflamed muscles would allow. The Britannia soldier slammed him into the wood floor and held his arms behind his back, pressing a knee into his back to hold him down as the other soldier approached Nunnally.

"If you hurt her I'll-" Suzaku wasn't able to finish as the man cut him off, while the man pressed his knee harder into his spine.

"You'll what?" The first man asked in a laugh. "What do you want to do, sergeant?"

"What do I want to do?" The sergeant pretended to think about it. "Oh… I know… let's have a little fun before we kill them."

"No! I'll kill you!" Suzaku shouted, making both men laugh at him.

"Maybe if this girl decided to cooperate we'll let you live." The sergeant told him and the other laughed even more.

"I won't let you!"

"Suzaku…" Nunnally started and he glanced at her. He knew she couldn't see it, but his eyes were begging her not to say okay. "It's okay…"

"It's not okay! It's not… it's not okay. It wrong! It's so wrong." The man grabbed him by the hair and smashed his face into the floor. He could feel and smell the blood that started to drip from above his eye.

"Well… there's a good girl." The sergeant said, hand on his hips as he smiled wickedly.

"You bastard! I sear to God I'm going to kill you if you do this!" Suzaku shouted and the man frowned, before he turned and stared down at him.

"I'd like to see you try." He turned back to Nunnally and Suzaku struggled even more against the man sitting over him that was still snickering.

"Maybe he wants to be first." The soldier suggested, laughing darkly.

"I'm going to kill you! You Brit piece of sh-"

"Get him out of here! I can't think with him running his mouth!" The sergeant finally shouted and the other soldiers grabbed Suzaku and tossed him outside. Suzaku gritted his teeth and held his aching side, which he landed on.

His eyes burned with rage when he saw the soldier pick up his bayoneted rifle that glinted in a flash of lightning. He stepped down the stairs towards him slowly and Suzaku knew in his state that he didn't stand a chance.

He was going to die or he was going to trick him and take him with him. He quickly started crawling backwards, hoping that the man we keep coming straight towards him. He backed up until his back hit the tree, eyes on the ground in front of him.

"Awww… poor boy hit the end of the road. Don't worry… I'll take care of that girl of yours. Take real good care of her." He chuckled darkly, but when he raised his bayonet and stepped forward there was a loud cracking sound.

Back at the house Nunnally could here the sergeant digging through the small shack, she swallowed hard worrying of what was to come. She was more worried about Suzaku then herself though, not knowing if he was dead or not.

"Well… I suppose if that idiot's going to be late…" The sergeant trailed.

"You said you wouldn't hurt him!"

"I'm a bad lair, but you're still going to give me what I want." She felt the sergeant force his lips against her and she bit him, drawing blood. It enraged the man. "Agh! You bitch!" He gabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the wall.

"You're a monster!" She couldn't help that she was crying now. The door slammed open and she heard stumbling steps.

"You pansy! It's about time you-" A gunshot cut the sergeant off and the only sound after that was that of a body dropping.

XxXxX

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own this.

Alright. Six reviews, you guys made my day. Heh. Here's the next chapter.

XxXxX

Lelouch could barely see through the rain, but he knew they were almost there. He could see the fishing shack in a flash of lightning. He was going to make it, he couldn't believe it. His perseverance had won over and he was going to be able to save his best friend.

That was when he heard the gunshot. His eyes grew wide. Good God, had he been only seconds too late after all?

Ohgi and Tamaki glanced at one another, before they fallowed Lelouch as he picked up his pace and ran, but skidded to a stop when he noticed the broken boards to the well. He quickly looked down the old well and in a flash of lightning he saw a soldier was dead at the bottom.

He ran to the shack while the two men both looked down the well, before fallowing him inside. Everybody was shocked at what they saw.

"Nunnally!" Lelouch shouted. "Suzaku!"

"Lelouch… you check on your sister. We'll take care of your friend." Ohgi told him as they quickly kneeled besides the unconscious boy by the door. Tamaki picked the rifle from his hands and tossed it out of reach.

"Nunnally? Are you alright? What happened?" Lelouch asked, stepping over the dead body of a Britannia sergeant, before he kneeled besides his sister.

"Suzaku… is he…?" She tried to ask, but couldn't finish her question.

"Everything is okay… there are some men here with me to help. Let's worry about you. You're bleeding pretty bad." Lelouch said, reaching over to their bag and dragging out a rag to hold to her head. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Soldiers came and Suzaku tried to fight them… but… is he alright, Lelouch? You didn't answer me."

Lelouch sighed and glanced over his shoulder back at Suzaku. His stitches had been torn out and he'd been banged up pretty bad, but he couldn't tell his sister that.

"Like I said… everything is going to be okay." He lifted his sister up and watched as Ohgi and Tamaki slide a needle into Suzaku's arm, while putting him onto the stretcher they had with them. His skin was a pale white and he was completely drenched in rain water and sweat.

"Alright. He's stable for now. Let's see if he can make the trip back now." Ohgi stated and Lelouch visibly flinched. He hadn't intended for Nunnally to hear that.

XxXxX

"Outta the way!" Tamaki shouted, charging through the doors of the hospital and down the hallway, passing C.C.

"Alright! Get the generators running for room three and ten!" She ordered and several men ran down stairs. "Let's get him into a room and get those antibiotics in him!"

"Can you help my sister?" Lelouch asked. "The Britannia soldiers found them. She got hurt and Suzaku took the worst of it."

"Hold on." She turned towards a man. "Get Kallen!"

"Thank you so much for your help…" He said and she nodded.

"Take her to a room ten. That's why I had them set it up." C.C said. She quickly ran after Tamaki and Ohgi. "What have we got?" She asked, snapping on a pair of gloves.

"He's got a real nasty gash on that right side and above his eye. Might have a concussion." Tamaki suggested.

"That fever needs to come down." C.C told them. "And we're going to have to open that side up, I'm guessing some of that shrapnel is still in there."

"What about that contusion there?" Ohgi asked and C.C glanced at it.

"It's probably superficial, but check it just to be sure."

XxXxX

Lelouch buried his face in his hands as he sat besides his sister's bedside. Nunnally had fallen into unconsciousness on the way there, which lead him to be concerned.

The doctor with the name Kallen had been checking the head injury and she finally finished, pushing away a viewing machine and turning off the overhead light with a sigh.

"She has a severe concussion, which has me worried about swelling in the brain, but… what I would like to know is…" Kallen stated. "What idiot diagnosed her blindness?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying… that it may not be permanent."

"Could you reverse it?" Lelouch asked suddenly, hopeful.

"I may be able to." She replied. "With a quick surgery it's possible."

"And if the surgery failed… would it harm her?"

"That's possible too, but we could talk to C.C about it. She's the best surgeon in Japan, you couldn't ask for a better one." Kallen assured. "Your friend is in good hands."

"I'll need to think about it." Lelouch replied. So lost in thought, he didn't know exactly how long he had been sitting there. Probably a few hours.

The door opened and C.C stepped in. she crossed her arms over her chest when he glanced up at her. She thought that he just looked miserable. He should. He had a lot to think about.

"Your friend survived the surgery and is being administered antibiotics." She told him and he nodded, not saying a word. "The steroids are working well to take the inflammation down, however… he had 40% liver damage."

"That bad, huh? Will he live?" Lelouch asked in a defeated voice. It made C.C wonder what had changed his optimistic attitude.

"We'll know by tomorrow."

"What about my sister? Is it true?"

"If what Doctor Kozuki says is true, yes." C.C replied, picking up the chart at the end of the bed. "Have you made a decision about it?"

"Yes. I'd like you to try."

"This seems to have upset you. Who is the doctor that originally operated on her?"

"My father's most trusted doctor… and the best doctor in Britannia. So… they lied to us."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because my sister was there when my mother was murdered. I believe she saw something that day that she wasn't suppose to." Lelouch said, fist clenching. "I want to see Japan crush Britannia."

"You'll be happy to know then, that they've gained the upper hand as of late." C.C said. "Now… if you would like to step out for awhile. I'd like to get my assistant in here and run over the risks."

XxXxX

Lelouch sighed deeply, he'd been through a lot over the past these days. And not just him, but everybody in the small group had.

Tamaki muttered something to himself as he passed Lelouch, before heading into the room with the guy they'd recently operated on. He wasn't happy about it, but he would have to keep checking on him to make sure he didn't lapse back into a bad state.

He sighed deeply, adjusting the IV, but just as he was about to step out the guy grabbed him and tossed him backwards.

Suzaku quickly ripped the needle out of his arm and grabbed a scalpel off the tray by the door. He looked like a wild animal in a panic.

"Hey, hey, hey! Relax!" Tamaki said C.C stopped in the door, with Kallen to her left. Both women looked at one another in surprise.

"Who the hell are you people? What have you done with Nunnally?"

"Kallen… get Lelouch." C.C told her in a whisper, before holding her hands up and stepping into the room. "It's alright Suzaku-san. You can tell we are not Britannia."

Back in another room Lelouch was in one of his brooding sessions.

"Lelouch, come quick." Kallen said firmly and he didn't even ask, before running with her back to the room, the scene before them was still surprising.

"Suzaku? What are you doing?" Lelouch asked, taking in his appearance. He hadn't seen him in days, at least he hadn't seen him looking healthier in days.

"Lelouch? Where am I?"

"A hospital. These are all doctors… you can put that down." He urged and Suzaku dropped the scalpel, still uneasy, before C.C set a hand on his shoulder and forced him to sit down on the bed.

"Where's Nunnally?"

"She's fine." Lelouch assured, pulling up a chair beside the bed.

"Was she… did I… were they dead? Did I kill him in time?"

"Yeah. You got both of them." He said. "What do you mean in time?"

"He was gonna… eh…" Suzaku couldn't finish. He just exhaled slowly to calm himself, while C.C grabbed his arm and turned it up to reset the IV into his veins.

"Those… bastards!" Lelouch shouted. "If they weren't dead I'd kill them."

"Can I see her?" Suzaku asked and Lelouch sighed.

"She's asleep. She got out of surgery recently."

"Surgery? You said she was-ouch!" He winced when C.C pressed the needle past his veins. "You said she was fine!"

"She is fine. Calm down. If something were wrong with my sister, you'd know. Trust me." He said and Suzaku rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"How about you? How do you feel?"

"I don't know, yet… but whatever's in that IV is really good."

"I'll bet." Lelouch laughed softly, before he stood up.

"Hey… when do you think I can see Nunnally?" He asked and Lelouch shrugged, before exiting the room, since he still had some very important things to think about. Thought it made him feel a little bad leaving Suzaku alone with a bunch of strangers.

"Lelouch, what is it you're thinking of?" C.C asked, closing the door behind her.

"Revenge."

"Revenge is a dangerous thing. You know what they say… if that's your plan then you better dig two graves."

"Then what would you have me do?"

"Maybe we could help each other. The Japanese forces are excellent with guerrilla war… all they need is a leader. A brilliant one."

"Oh, yeah? And how do you expect to find that?"

"I believe I'm looking at him." C.C told him, crossing her arms over her chest with a grin.

"So… you want me to lead the Japanese forces? How exactly am I going to do that?" Lelouch asked, unbelievingly.

"They're going to take over this town. Or what's left of it. A week from now."

"Uh-huh… right."

"You want revenge on your father and I want my country back." C.C stated and Lelouch crossed his arm as well, leaving the two in a stare down.

"You know… your plan is crazy enough… that maybe it could work."

"Of course it could."

"And… this would make a great headquarters…" Lelouch said, walking forwards with a hand on his chin, taking in everything.

"With soldiers, we could scavenge supplies from other hospitals nearby. There'd be plenty."

"There's railroad station down the way, where Britannia ships in their nightmares. Suzaku spotted it when scouting ahead."

"So are we going to do this?"

"If the Japanese forces will rally behind us, then we'll rebel against Britannia. With the Chinese Federation behind us as well… we'll crush them." He held out his hand in front of himself and clenched his fist, as if physically crushing the Britannia empire.

"Partners then?" C.C asked and Lelouch held out his hand to shake hers.

"Welcome to the rebellion Surgeon General."

XxXxX

TBC...

And here we come with a twist even I wasn't expecting. Zero is born.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer; I don't own this, but I am sure you know that by now.

A/N Sorry this took so long guys. ^^' I've been busy though and I've been really stressed out and all sorts of stuff. And I ended up in the hospital with a serious bladder infection. Those things hurt like hell. Anyways... ignore me. Onto the story.

XxXxX

Nunnally woke up to darkness, as she normally would, but this wasn't normal. She felt the scratchy bandages over her eyes and sat up to peal them off.

It hit her as a total surprise to actually see in the darkness of the dimly lit room. It was a hospital room she was in. the door opened and a doctor with reddish hair stared at her.

"Oh, you're awake." She said. "I'm Kallen. Your doctor."

"How is this… possible?" Nunnally asked, blinking several times.

"Your previous doctor was a moron." Kallen replied. "You may find, however, that your eyes get tired easily. So just rest them."

"Where is my brother?"

"I'll go get him." The woman left and a few moments later Lelouch entered the room, smiling just as brightly as she remembered before she went blind.

"Nunnally… are you… can you see me?" He asked, quickly walking over in a brisk pace to hug her.

"I can…" She told him, tears in her eyes. "Lelouch… are you okay?"

"Just fine, Nunnally." He assured her.

"What about Suzaku?"

"He's much better. He'll be just fine, Nunnally. We're going to keep our promises to each other after all."

"I'm so glad." She whispered, hugging her brother tighter. "Can I see him? Does he look well?"

"He's asleep right now and yes, he looks fine, but you should be resting as well." He told her, in his best big brother tone.

"Please?" She asked and he was never one be able to resist the request of his sister.

"Alright. Real quick, but let's not tell the doctors." Lelouch said, quickly lifting her and setting her into a wheelchair. He quickly sprinted down the hall with her and then stopped at the room, opening the door to Suzaku's room. "I'll keep watch out here. It'll give you a few minutes with him."

"Okay." She said and watched him leave the room quietly. Nunnally lowly reached a hand up to take Suzaku's and he stirred from sleep slightly.

"Nunnally?" He asked, sitting up, but wincing slightly.

"Don't get up for me." Nunnally said quickly and when he looked at her, it took a few minutes to notice the difference.

"Can you… Nunnally… you can see me?" He asked, reaching out his free hand to brush the hair from her eyes. She smiled and nodded. He wasn't even going to ask how, it didn't matter.

"I get to see you, Suzaku." She watched his slow smile, before he took her hand in both of his and pressed a gentle kiss to her palm.

"I'm glad that this has happened."

"The doctors here were able to help. They even saved your life."

"I'm even more glad that you're alright. I wanted to come see you, but they wouldn't let me out of this da-stupid bed."

"I think Suzaku-san was going to curse." She giggled and he sighed, before shrugging.

"Yes, you caught me." He replied with a smile. "You're really okay?"

"Of course. Why are you so worried still?" Nunnally asked and watched an odd expression cross his face, she wasn't sure what it meant. Since she really hadn't known his expressions. It could have meant anything, but she guessed he was thinking about something troubling.

"I'd never forgive myself if I hadn't been able to stop those soldiers."

"Don't think about that. It was scary, but you did stop them. So it doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past now." She brushed her fingers across his cheek and he closed his eyes for a moment. "Suzaku… I do have… a request…"

"Anything for you, Nunnally." He set his hand over hers.

"It's something I can only ask you. I thought about it… after being so worried about you." She told him and he furrowed his brow. He'd never heard her talk this way before. "I… want to ask if-"

"Times up." Lelouch said, quickly walking across the room the get Nunnally. "Hey, Suzaku, we've got to talk about something later when you feel better."

"Uh, sure." Suzaku said in confusion as he watched them leave. He wondered what Nunnally had wanted to ask him.

XxXxX

The door opened and Lelouch looked up to find C.C there.

"So what are you planning?" She asked, sitting on the bed across from him.

"I've got a good plan actually." He replied, arms crossed behind his head casually. She seemed irritated with his behavior. "We are going to ambush the train station and steal some knightmares. When the Japanese army sees how capable we are, they'll probably want to speak with us."

"And how exactly do you expect to do that?" She was outraged by his suggestion. He knew she would be and he smirked. "You think this is funny? We have no soldiers here."

"No… we have a soldier here." Lelouch told her. "Suzaku trained with Todoh."

"So you'll send the friend we just saved to die?"

"Oh, no. not at all. I would never put his life at risk, but I know Suzaku and I can do this. We've always been able to do anything when we worked together."

"The two of you alone?"

"Yes."

"That's insane. I don't know why I put any confidence in you at all."

"Because, you know that I can do this. I will avenge my mother and Nunnally." Lelouch said, getting up to look out the spaces of the boarded up window. "As soon as Suzaku is better, we're going to get those knightmares."

"I'm ready." A voice said and they both looked towards the door. "I'll help, Lelouch."

"Suzaku! You should be in bed."

"No. You said you needed to talk and I'm here. I heard what you said. We can do this." Suzaku said. "I could even train some of the staff here to fight if it's okay."

They both looked at C.C and she looked from one to the other, before sighing deeply and throwing her hands up.

"Alright. If you think this is what needs to be done, however…" She said slowly, looking to Lelouch and looking him up and down. "Nobody is going to follow a scrawny teenage Britannian. You'll need a ruse of some sort."

"I've already got that covered. Scrawny?" He asked, turning to Suzaku, who just shrugged.

"So what's the plan?" Suzaku asked, leaning against the door frame.

'Your friend here has the plan." C.C told him, before storming out of the room. "Childish buffoon!" She shouted somewhere down the hall.

Suzaku chuckled a little, before a look of pain crossed his face and he leaned heavily against the frame of the door.

"Suzaku, sit down for God's sake." Lelouch said, about to take a step forward, before Suzaku held up a hand to stop him with his eyes on the floor to keep from showing any signs of pain.

"I'm alright." He said, taking a deep breath. "How'd you let her talk you into this so easily?"

"She didn't." Lelouch said and Suzaku scoffed, still looking at the ground.

"You manipulated her? You show have a way with women, you know that?" Suzaku sighed finally. "Why are we doing this then?"

"For Nunnally's sake."

"What do you mean?"

"I decided to do this after I found out the truth… that Nunnally wasn't permanently blind. That my father had that doctor lie to us."

"Why would your father do something like that?"

"Because, I believe he was hiding the truth. I think maybe Nunnally saw who murdered our mother."

"So you're doing this for revenge? You know that isn't the right way. That it isn't what Nunnally would want." Suzaku reminded, a slight scolding tone.

"No. I'm doing this to end the war, revenge is just the end reward."

"I… just can't agree to this revenge, but… I will help you end this war. And… if necessary… I'll lay down my life for the greater good."

"I'm glad that you'll help, but I refuse to give you any assignment that will put your life on the line. I won't lose you and neither will Nunnally." Lelouch said firmly.

"You two… you treat me better then I deserve."

"Why would you say that?" He asked, but Suzaku didn't answer him. "As soon as you're up to it… I'm going to need you to pilot a knightmare."

"A knightmare? Lelouch… I-I've got no idea how to pilot one… I thought we would find somebody that knew…"

"Well you can read can't you?"

"Of course, but-"

"Exactly. They come with manuals. We can do this."

"Alright, I trust you. When do we start?"

"As soon as you get better. You're in no shape right now."

"This can't wait!" Suzaku argued.

"It can and it will. The train won't arrive until four days from now. Spend that time resting and healing so we can do this without any mistakes or death." Lelouch said and watched the fight leave Suzaku's eyes, but he also saw something else cross his face. "Is there… something else?"

'Huh?" Suzaku seemed to be snapped out of whatever he was thinking about. "Oh, no. There's nothing else… I just remembered something trivial." Suzaku told him.

"Do you need to talk about it?"

"No, no. I should get going now though… and uh… rest."

"Why don't I believe that?" Lelouch asked, watching Suzaku shrug before he exited the room. Lelouch crossed his arms then. _what is he up to I wonder? _Then it hit him. _Ah, he's sneaking off to see Nunnally. He probably promised her he would._

Lelouch sighed, knowing Suzaku was going to get in trouble with the doctors for not resting, but he resigned himself to work out his plan of how they were going to get these knightmares. Especially with how well he knew it would be guarded.

XxXxX

TBC...

Alright... there is going to be some more... ehh... not any lemon or lime or anything, but some romance between Nunnally and Suzaku that I am going to split up into seperate chapters for those that want to stay with the plot. Althought there might be important things you'll miss if you skip...  
>Now... I'm going to give you guys two chapters, so please review them both.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own this.

A/N This is a chapter you CAN skip, but there are a couple things that you'll miss out on if you do. It's not lemon or anything like that, but let me know if I should make it rated M for this chapter.  
>I just don't want to get in trouble by FF.<p>

XxXxX

Back in the hallway, Suzaku sighed. He was still really worn out from the past few days and all that had happened during those days, but he desperately wanted to know what Nunnally wished from him.

So… it didn't need to be said that he was having a hard time evading doctors and nurses to sneak down this long hallway. He opened the door to her room quietly and checked to make sure nobody has seen him come in here, otherwise he'd get dragged back to his room.

"Suzaku, you should be resting." Nunnally told him, a slight frown crossing her face. He quietly walked over to her bed and kneeled by her side. "Don't. The floor is cold, sit up here." He gave a resigned sigh and stood, only to sit besides her.

"Nunnally, what was it you wanted?"

'Hmm?" She made an uncertain face.

"Before Lelouch came in, you wanted to ask something." He clarified.

"Oh…" She flushed a little. "Ummm… it's nothing too important… you can just forget about it."

"No… please tell me." Suzaku urged and she sat up.

"I… only want to ask you… if you would… uhm… be with me?"

"If I would-oh." He came to the sudden realization of what she actually meant. "But… I don't think you want that. Not with me. Not now."

"But I wouldn't have asked you if it wasn't what I wanted."

"Why?"

"Because after what happened with those soldiers, I realized that I didn't want it to be like that. Not in that way… I want it to be something nice."

"Nunnally, I will never let that happen!" He argued, unsure what to do in this situation.

"You can't guarantee that, Suzaku! You can't. I don't want to die without ever knowing what it's like to be with you." She was blushing quiet a bit by now, but Suzaku was simply hold his face in his hands. Ye God why was he put in situations like this? "I understand if you don't want to with me."

"I… I'll think about it."

He slowly got up and left the room, leaving her to think. It was what he wanted, he wanted to give her some more time to think this through, but he knew that when Nunnally made up her mind, she really made up her mind. More stubborn then her brother.

Her brother. Dear God, Lelouch was going to kick his ass when he found out. If… he found out. He would try to hide it, but there was no hiding anything from Lelouch.

XxXxX

Lelouch yawned as he finished up the finally key points of his plan. Now all they had to do was sit back and wait for the train to arrive with reinforcements and knightmares. They could pull this off, he knew they could.

He got up and headed down the hallway to find the men he had traveled with to get Suzaku. He needed their help if they were to succeed.

Tamaki and Ohgi were having a late dinner when he arrived in the cafeteria area. They seemed to be talking about some medical procedure they had done once before the war.

"Gentlemen, may I have a word?" Lelouch asked.

"Sure thing, have a seat." Ohgi said right away.

"I would like to request your help. I need more people to pilot those knightmares."

"Now you're speaking my langue!" Tamaki shouted, rather pleased with what he was hearing now. "So when do we get to blow stuff up?"

"Later…" Lelouch said, slightly annoyed. "Have either of you ever piloted any knightmares?"

"Once a long time ago with a few friends, Ohgi was with us, so he knows too." Tamaki told him. Lelouch was happy to find this out.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" A voice asked and they all looked over to see Kallen. She was displeased they left her name out.

"Oh, yeah. And Kallen was there too." Tamaki added, waving it off.

"Great. That's four." Lelouch smirked in satisfaction.

"And CC knows how to fly as well." Kallen said and all guys looked up in surprise.

"Seriously?" "No way!" "Really?" All guys asked in shock.

XxXxX

After letting Nunnally think for awhile, Suzaku had decided he'd need something for this. Well… otherwise… Lelouch WOULD find out and he WOULD kick his ass. Not to say that Lelouch actually could kick his ass psychically.

Suzaku dug through the many boxes in the storage room, finding what he was looking for he sighed deeply. Was he really going to do this?

"Suzaku-san, would you please tell me what you're doing in here? And out of your bed?"

He yelped and quickly turned to find CC standing there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I was uh… uhm… well-" He caught her gaze going down to the box in his hands. He looked down himself. "Oh! These aren't the… rubber gloves… that I was… looking for." He laughed nervously.

"Uh-huh…" CC said in a disbelieving tone. "I'm going to walk away and pretend I didn't see you, but hide those better, nobody will believe your stupid story."

He relaxed a little when CC left the storage room, but that was really embarrassing to get caught with. As if this situation wasn't hard enough to deal with, now CC knew about it and he could only pray she would not tell Lelouch.

It was killing him to make this decision, it was. He wasn't entirely sure if this was the right thing, but then… Nunnally could make her own decisions. She was grown up now whether any of them wanted to admit it or not.

XxXxX

When Suzaku entered her room he found Nunnally and Kallen at ends, he raised his eyebrows sky high as Kallen threw her arms up in the air in exasperation.

"Did I… miss something?" He asked quietly.

"Nunnally, refuses to let us give her a bath. She insist Lelouch does it, because he usual does." Kallen said, frowning, before setting her hands on her hip, clipboard still in hand.

"He does since she can't do it herself." Suzaku said and Kallen shrugged. "Wouldn't a girl be more comfortable though, Nunnally?"

"No… it's too embarrassing from somebody I don't know…" She muttered. An idea suddenly sprung into his mind. Maybe this was his chance to scare her out of her little plan.

"I'll do it." He said and Kallen looked at him questioningly. "That's fine right, Nunnally?"

"Uhmm… b-but… S-Suzaku." She stuttered in slight surprise.

"Fine, whatever." Kallen said, walking out of the room. "It's not like I haven't seen a dozen naked people in my job anyway. I don't see what's so embarrassing about it."

She whined when he turned around after closing the door.

XxXxX

She wasn't entirely happy with Suzaku, she kept her arms crossed over her chest and faced the wall with her back to him. She flushed in embarrassment when she heard the sound of him dipping the rag into the water before he ran it over her back. She felt the warm water trickle down her skin and it made it much more embarrassing.

"Calm down. Besides… if you really want to be with me then you would have to let me see you." He stated matter of factly. "Isn't that right?"

"Is that why you're doing this?" She asked, unable to keep her voice from trembling.

"Are you afraid?"

"A little."

"Then have you changed your mind about being with me?"

She was silent for a few moments, before shaking her head. "No."

"No?" He asked and she heard him sigh deeply, before he tried to think of something else.

"Are you… _gay_… Suzaku?" She asked meekly and heard only silence behind her, when she looked over her should she saw his jaw dropped and he was frozen.

"W-what?" His voice cracked slightly.

"That's it, isn't it?" She said, more to herself then to him and his eye twitched slightly.

"What?" He shook his head to calm himself. This… this just wouldn't do. "No, Nunnally, I am not gay."

"But… it makes sense."

"It doesn't make any sense!" His manly pride was seriously hurting right about now. "Alright then, Nunnally. Let me prove to you that I'm not gay." He said in a slightly husky tone of voice and her eyes widened slightly. What had she gotten herself into?

"S-Suzaku-san?"

"Do you even have any idea… the thoughts that go through my head? The times I've wanted to hold you and never let go… when I carry you and never want to put you down… or…" He licked his lips, nervousness taking over as his voice lowered slightly. "or when… I want to kiss you, just to see if your lips are as soft as they look. But… I just… don't want you to feel like you have to do this…"

"Please… don't make the choice for me." She begged quietly and he nodded, letting his hair fall into his eyes to conceal his emotions.

"Then decide now." He told her, eyes on the floor. "And if I make it back from this… I won't deny your choice."

XxXxX

TBC...

Until the next chapter. Review, please.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Do Not Own.

Whee! Three chapters at once! You guys had better love me. Just kidding. lol. I only ask that you please let me know what you think. But I hope you like this so far. I like where this is going. ^^

So... if you skipped the last chapter, it's not too obvious what's going on between Suzaku and Nunnally. So it shouldn't bother anyone that just wants to read for the plot. Some people just don't like romance.

XxXxX

Steam blew from the top of a train and black smoke rolled out as it slowly rolled into the station. Several guards waved the train in and stepped back as it came to a slow stop.

A group of three snuck along the wall, before Suzaku grabbed a soldier walking by and pulled him behind the wall, snapping his throat in seconds. He picked up the man's rifle and tossed it to Ohgi, while tossing the pistol to Kallen.

Ohgi then nodded and moved to the position Lelouch had requested once they got weapons. Kallen and Suzaku slowly snuck around the back of the train and just as Lelouch had said, there were several knightmare frames. Advanced ones.

They were in a hurry to get into the knightmares when Suzaku froze at a voice behind him. Luckily Kallen had managed to hope into the knightmare she chose unnoticed.

"Who… are you?" The voice asked and Suzaku turned to find a man in a lab coat. he took his glasses off and cleaned them, before putting them on and starting as Suzaku.

"Don't move!" Kallen ordered, aiming the large knightmare's gun at the man in the lab coat. Suzaku sighed in relief.

"Ohh… are you stealing those? You must be Japanese."

"Lloyd! I told you not to leave the codes inside of the cockpits!" A woman scolded.

"Oh, now, now, Cecile." The man named Lloyd said, scoffing. There was the crack of a gunshot and the alarms were going off.

"Suzaku, you go. I'll keep an eye on these guys!"

"Damn!" Suzaku shouted, jumping into the cockpit of the first knightmare he saw.

"Oh! Not the Lancelot!" Lloyd shouted in sadness.

"Shut it!" Kallen yelled.

XxXxX

Lelouch was quickly cutting through the fuse box to get to the inside. He needed to temporarily cut off the power to the train station.

Just as he almost had it he heard a gun cock behind his head and he slowly raised his hand.

"Get up. Turn around. Slowly." A man ordered him and he slowly stood, turning to face the man. "You're not Japanese." Just as he was about to yell for help a bloody mist squirted from the side of his head after a crack of a gunshot followed.

Lelouch looked up to see Ohgi with his rifle, waiting in the sniper's nest just like he had requested, only now the alarms were going off.

"Find the sniper!" A soldier shouted and ran by. Lelouch quickly cut the wires and ducked off to the side.

XxXxX

Ohgi ducked as he was spotted and fired upon. He was completely pinned by a hail of bullets, he tied to get some random shots off, but it was useless.

That was when the white knightmare jumped over him and down into the tracks, taking out the soldiers with one quick blow.

"Ohgi, move!" Suzaku yelled, making sure the gun fire was focus on him.

"They've got our knightmares!" A soldier cried. "Call for back up!"

Another man grabbed the phone and tried to dial, but he got nothing. "The powers out!"

"What are we gonna do, sir!" A third man asked.

"Give up! It will make this easier on everyone." Suzaku ordered.

"Like hell you Japanese bastard!" A man shouted and started to fire on the knightmare again. He had no choice.

XxXxX

Once the battle was over they began the cleaning process. Everything was set up for another ambush as well, since the power had been cut just in time and the soldiers were unable to warn their comrades of the danger.

Everything was working out just to Lelouch's plan. It was a swift victory and he was pleased with how it all went. Nobody had been killed except enemies.

"Lelouch, what should I do with this racist pig?" Kallen asked, shoving Lloyd forwards, keeping a gun on his back. His apprentice hadn't caused trouble or appeared racist so Kallen left the girl be.

"We'll lock him up and decide what to do later." Lelouch told her as CC stood besides him with her arms crossed.

"And where exactly are we going to lock him up, _Lelouch_?" She asked, irritation in her voice.

"Well excuse me." Lelouch scoffed.

"I suppose you did get us this far, but we can't take prisoners. We're not equip for such a thing."

"I'll figure something out." He told her and CC sighed deeply in annoyance.

"Actually… I may be able to help out with that. As long as I stay in charge of the Lancelot… I can get you into the secrete base built right under this very station." Lloyd said, tipping back on his feet, a mischievous grin on his face.

"A base? Under this station? It would be too obvious." Lelouch stated.

"Nope. Only my assistant and I know about it. In fact… we had it built."

"Why?"

"For the Lancelot, what else?" Lloyd asked, still grinning like an idiot. "there are plenty of medical supplies and food and water. And… more knightmares…"

"And all you want is to work on this so called Lancelot?"

"Yup."

"What are we going to do Lelouch?" Suzaku asked, sitting on a create to his left.

"I say… we let CC decide." Lelouch stated and she gave him a shocked look.

"I… think we should take the man's advice…" CC said.

"Alright, let him go Kallen." Lelouch told her and she rolled he eyes in annoyance.

"Goody! Now, please follow me." Lloyd said, he walked over to a door and opened it, heading down long rows of stairs, they finally came to a door. Lloyd opened a panel and set his palm against it, before the door slid open.

"Whoa!" Tamaki shouted. "It's like an underground mansion!"

"It's only partially underground. Off to the west wing there's a big open area. It's practically invisible from far away, but it over looks the sea in case of any attacks for that way. It also has plenty of anti-air craft guns." Lloyd informed in a bored tone.

"I think you made a good decision, CC." Lelouch told her, looking around the fancy room.

"Thank you, Lelouch." She told him.

"Let's see what else they have here and get settled in. Suzaku, would you go back with Ohgi and get everybody? Bring the medical supplies as well."

"Got it covered, Lelouch." Suzaku said as he and Ohgi headed back out the door.

XxXxX

"Wow, brother. This place is amazing." Nunnally said and Lelouch nodded, smiling at his sister's enthusiasm.

"Yes. And it's safe. We're going to do it. We're going to save Japan and end this world. Then we can live in peace." Lelouch said and CC smiled herself at those words.

"I'm so glad brother. But please… be careful. You and Suzaku." She begged.

"We are being safe, Nunnally." Her brother assured.

"And everyone else of course." Nunnally said and CC smiled at the younger girl.

"We'll be safe, Nunnally." CC told her.

"Come on." Suzaku said, straightening up some. "Let's check out the rest of this place."

"Right." Nunnally said, tightening her arms around his neck as he took off into a jog down one of the hallways. "Ah! Suzaku-san!" She giggled loudly, irritating some of the recruits at how inconsiderate they were when they were trying to rest.

"Those two… such children." Lelouch stated, shaking his head, before turning back to the screens in front of him. He set his hand on the back of CC's chair. "Anything?"

"Yes, there is another trail scheduled to arrived three weeks from now. We could raid it and get some more supplies." She replied. "But I think they'll start to notice once their soldiers don't report in."

"Right. We'll only be able to do this once more."

Down the hall Suzaku ran out of energy and slowed down, he sighed and started to walk in a normal pace instead.

"Suzaku, you promised." She told him and he winced.

"Right… I did… r-right now?" He asked and she was silent for a few moments, but he already knew her answer. "A-alright…"

Back in the main room, Lelouch crossed his arms as he stared at the screens.

"Alright… we have the knightmares… now all we need are the troops. CC… I think it's time to recruit the Japanese forces… under my ruse… as Zero."

XxXxX

TBC...

Alrighty, that's all for tonight guys. But, ps... Lelouch is gonna be so pissed later on. Just a warning.

Thanks for reading, leave a review and God Bless. Stay tuned for the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclamier: Nope, nope, nope and nope. Don't own this.

Ages, everyone asks me about ages, let's say Lelouch and Suzaku are eighteen and Nunnally is seventeen (Because I'm no pedo) and CC, Kallen and the rest are in their late twenties. It IS an AU after all. If you wonder why he trusts Lloyd, ask instead... why did he trust Detard or whatever his name is? No... he isn't in this, but I'm just saying.

superl8 Thanks for the lovly review. Yes, I know, but with the easy killing... it's either you or them and you've gotta guess they've killed before since they've survived this long. In war... after the first few kills it gets easier, til the point you don't even think about it anymore.

Alastor Pariah Well thank you very much. If it's past tense it's usually in that characters point of view if they're remebering something. Just my style.

renielle14 All good and awesome.

Kagami KamiyaWell... the Chineses helped them out and gave them everything they needed, because no, Genbu as you'll see is not dead. No, lol... Nunnally is innocent to me too, but if you put yourself in her place, you wouldn't want something that's suppose to be nice, be forced and terrible. That's what she was worried about and that's why. I'm sure Lelouch would give her a glazed over version of the talk. I'm still working on Kallen's story, don't worry about that. But no. Your review doesn't offend me. You gave me constructive criticism and didn't just say "oh, it's stupid and I hate it." You gave me good reason. So thank you. I will try to improve it.

FeuWitch You're welcome. I love you too! XD I'm glad you enjoy the story.

MS-16 Z Jager Think I've answered all your questions right? Hope you like this next one, friend.

XxXxX 

"Alright… we have the knightmares… now all we need are the troops. CC… I think it's time to recruit the Japanese forces… under my ruse… as Zero."

The facility was silent for the longest time; everyone had taken a break after their first operation. After all, they deserved it.

CC pulled a grey blanket from a supply closet and carefully tossed it over their sleeping hero as he slept in one of the chairs in front of the security screens. He hadn't been sleeping much the past few days and in a couple more days, they would face the Chinese Federation and the Japanese Resistance to see if their plan would truly work or not.

Lelouch stirred and sat up, surprised to find the blanket over him. He slowly sat up and rubbed at an eye, before looking up to the screen to see the time.

"Have we received any transmissions from the enemy?" He asked, placing his face in his hands with a sigh, proving his weariness.

"No. I wonder if they're on to us faster then we estimated."

"That's possible as well." Lelouch replied, while he crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. "They may think that the Japanese already took this station. They will realize their loss and try to retake it. We need to be prepared for such a case."

There was a rumble of thunder and he sighed deeply.

"It seems to rain a lot these days." CC stated and he nodded.

"It's just a theory, but it's said that the gun powder rises into the atmosphere and causes the rain." He informed dully, probably bored. "But who believes all that?"

CC sighed deeply and stood, stretching and heading towards the door, before turning to speak. "It's late and if we're going to be of any use tomorrow."

"You go ahead; I want to keep an eye on things for a little while longer." Lelouch replied, leaning his chin on a hand.

On the way down the hall, CC stopped and opened the door to one of the rooms partway. As she expected she saw Suzaku and Nunnally asleep in the same room. Sighing, she locked the door before closing it behind her. It would do no good for Lelouch to walk in on that.

XxXxX

The room was quiet, and Nunnally watched the white curtain blow in the gentle breeze, with the slightest sprinkle of rain coming in on the wind. She felt Suzaku shift behind her as he moved closer to her.

"Suzaku-san… I-"

"No 'san' . Not anymore." He told her and she sighed a little. Regardless of recent events, she didn't feel comfortable not giving him the respect he deserved.

"Anata?" She asked and he nodded, before replying.

"Omae." He paused. "Watashi o ai shiteimasu ka?"

She furrowed her brow at his words. "Of course I do."

"Good. I'm glad, because I feel the same for you." There was more silence. "Nunnally… I have another condition, but… I want you to… to tell me yes or no…"

"What is it?"

XxXxX

The next few days passed and now they were getting prepared to head out. Suzaku struggled to pull on the jumpsuit Lloyd gave him. Lelouch walked in and grabbed the mask he had made up from several parts of soldier's helmets he found. There were plenty of them.  
>He had to admit, that from what he constructed it from, it looked good, but leave it to Lelouch to construct something excellent from junk.<p>

Lelouch paused and stared at Suzaku for a few moments and it was beginning to make him nervous with that thinking look.

"What?" Suzaku asked finally, pulling the jumpsuit up all the way.

"What happened to your back and sides? You've got scratches all over you." Lelouch informed and Suzaku froze, before clearing his throat and heading to the door.

"It… it's probably from the battle back at the train station." He replied.

"They look recent… and that was awhile ago."

"I don't know… I guess it's probably… not healing so well because of my sickness." Suzaku tried, trying to keep his face clear of any guilt.

"Yes… that must be it…" Lelouch replied, forcing a smile, but Suzaku could tell he still didn't entirely trust it. They both left the room without another word to one another.

Just as everyone was getting into position, the Japanese and Chinese knightmare frames showed up, suspiciously slow at seeing the train station and town were empty of any soldiers. The foot soldiers scoured the empty buildings for any hidden soldiers or traps, but to no avail.

"Keep looking! They didn't just vanish!" The commander shouted through the com-link.

"Actually commander… the Britannians are all dead. We killed them." A filtered out voice cut in and everyone froze.

"Who the hell is this?" The commander asked and watched as the masked man stepped out into the open with a soldier at his right side. "Who are you?"

"Come out and speak to me face to face, but don't try anything, because your men are surrounded." The mysterious masked figure spoke. There was silence, before the knightmare frame's hatch opened up with a thick of steam, before the pilot hoped down and Suzaku seized up, breath catching in his throat.

"Prime Minister… you surprise me. Leading the rebellion." He heard Lelouch say and tried to force himself to focus in case anything went wrong.

"And you are?" Genbu asked, but he already knew who it was, from the sight of his son.

"You may call me Zero."

"Then… Zero… what has happened to the men stationed in this city?"

"As I said, we killed them." Zero replied firmly and the two stared at one another in silence.

"I see. Let us talk somewhere more… private… _Zero_…" Genbu suggested and Zero nodded.

"Prime Minister!" Another man shouted, stepping out of his knightmare, but Genbu held up a hand to shut him up.

"Shall we?" Zero asked and Genbu nodded, before they headed back towards the translation. On the way, Suzaku gripped onto Lelouch's arm.

"I have to tell you something…" Suzaku whispered harshly.

"It can wait."

"No-wait!"

"Here we are." Genbu cut in, entering the room, he had not heard them anyway. Lelouch pulled his arm from Suzaku and entered the room quietly, with Suzaku trailing behind quietly.

"So… Lelouch… what is it you're planning?" Genbu asked the young man and heard his quiet laugh, before he removed the mask with a hiss.

"I'm not so surprised; I suppose I shouldn't bring Suzaku out into the open with me anymore." Lelouch stated and Suzaku kept his eyes on the floor. It did not go unnoticed to him though. "I thought you were dead."

"I thought you were all dead." He replied as well, crossing his arms and glaring at his son, but Suzaku didn't even notice, he was too interesting in the designs on the carpet.

"I would imagine you did. Tell me, how goes the war so far?"

"We're hanging in there, but Britannia is so large… it's difficult to say the least."

"I see." Lelouch sighed a little. "Put me in charge of your armies, Genbu. Together we will crush Britannia."

"I have seen what you are capable of, Lelouch. You beat me in your little chess game, your strategies is sound and you know Britannia better then anyone don't you?"

"Get to the point…"

"Beat me in chess once more… and I'll give you the power." The Prime Minister told him and there was silence.

"Very well." Lelouch replied easily, but Genbu pulled out his gun and fired a shot quickly. Lelouch's eyes grew wide and he caught the man he called his brother before he fell.

"There is one condition… you've got until Suzaku bleeds out to beat me." Genbu smiled darkly and Lelouch quickly put pressure on the wound by Suzaku's upper right thigh. It was close to an artery, he didn't know if it struck it, but he was already bleeding out quickly.

"Lelouch… just… do it." Suzaku urged, leaning against the wall and wincing.

"Suzaku!"

"This is bigger then me this time! Do it for Japan. Do it for Nunnally. Do it for me."

"Suzaku…" Lelouch closed his eyes tightly for a moment, before nodding. He quickly set up the bored and sat down across from the smirking Prime minister. "Why? Why your own son?" Lelouch asked, quickly starting the game with a pawn.

"I'm just repaying the favor." Genbu replied, making a similar move.

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked, bringing his knight into play and taking the pawn.

"I mean… Suzaku stabbed me and left me to die. My own son. Shitsuren." The man said, taking out the knight with a bishop. Lelouch quickly glanced over at Suzaku to see the growing puddle of blood underneath him. This was getting to close, he couldn't lose Suzaku. Not now. "How's that sister of yours?"

"My sister is none of your business."

"Oh, but you forget she was once my fiancée?" Genbu asked and Lelouch gritted his teeth. "You may have beaten me then to free your sister from out engagement, but I assure you, you can't beat me now. Not before Suzaku dies at least… and in that case… I still win."

"I won't let you win." Lelouch told him, quickly taking out the bishop and Genbu frowned.

"That girl causes me a lot of trouble."

"What are you talking about?" He was confused with the Prime Minister now. For once, he could not figure it out and Lelouch was _not _stupid by any means.

"That's… what I was trying to tell you…" Suzaku muttered from the floor, eyelids lowering, before he jerked and sat up more straight, putting more pressure on the wound. Lelouch quickly took another piece from the board.

"Oh… he didn't tell you… maybe it's for the best." Genbu informed and while speaking, Genbu took a piece from the board.

The game went on, the clock ticked, and it was not long, before there were only five pieces on the board. It was a stalemate and Suzaku was dying for God's sake. Again… for the second time. He couldn't stomach this.

Genbu moved his last bishop… all that stood between the king and Lelouch's knight. He had to make this work; he had to make it work. A sacrifice needed to be made. He moved the pawn and Genbu took the bait, taking the pawn out, before Lelouch quickly knocked the bishop over with his knight.

"Checkmate!" Lelouch shouted, standing up.

"Now you have to save Suzaku or you lose. Doesn't look possible now, does it?"

"CC!" Lelouch shouted over a small radio and it didn't take long for her to arrive. She looked back and forth, before quickly getting Tamaki to help her get Suzaku into surgery. "You have lost… CC is a surgeon."

Genbu's face fell and he stood up right away. "You tricked me!"

"I've done no such thing… tell me why… tell why did Suzaku stab you?" Lelouch asked and Genbu smiled, he may have lost his army (he was a man of his word after all) but he could have a small victory still.

XxXxX

CC sighed deeply and removed the bloody gloves to toss them into the trash, before heading out of the room and closing the door.

"He'll be out for a while. I suggest you get him out of the fighting if you don't want to lose him the next time." She suggested to Lelouch and he nodded.

"I'll keep him on guard duty at the base here so he at least feels like he's being useful." Lelouch sighed deeply and crossed his arms. "Bastard." He cursed at the thought of Genbu.

The man was still outside with his soldiers. He would no obey him since he was bound by honor, but he wouldn't put it past the man to try something.

"Ohgi is keeping an eye on him." CC assured and he nodded, they would need an eye on that snake.

"Thank you." Lelouch clenched his fist. They needed to figure out how to deal with that man without losing the support of the Japanese forces, but it seemed that his hopes had been crushed then and there. For once in his life… Lelouch didn't know what to do.

XxXxX

TBC...

Shorter chapter then I would have liked, but I've been getting back into this story lately. SO many questions though! What will happen next?


	9. Chapter 9

Disclamier: Yeah, you guessed it. I don't own this.

A/N Well... I am back. After a very long time. *sorry* And I have this awesomely awesome chapter for you. Suzaku's father... I made him this way, becuase of how he was in the light novel. In one of the light novels, I guess he actually did try something evil like what Suzaku tells Lelouch he did. That evil, evil man. Ideas are welcome.

XxXxX

Suzaku sat quietly in his hospital bed, staring down at the white blankets and looking for some way to sort out the chaos in his mind. On the outside he looked stoic, with only a hint of trouble, but the inside was quiet the opposite.

He was so distracted he nearly didn't hear the voice speaking to him. "Huh?"

"Suzaku… I've been saying your name for the past ten minutes." Lelouch informed, crossing his arms over his chest unhappily.

"Oh… I'm sorry?"

Suzaku still kept his eyes low and Lelouch's angry glare softened slightly. He couldn't stay mad at his best friend. Not after all they had been through together.

"In the morning, we're meeting up with Chinese forces to assault the Britannian front lines." He informed and Suzaku nodded.

"Right, where should we-"

"You're not going." Lelouch said and Suzaku looked up at him suddenly.

"What do you mean I'm not going?" He asked, trying to sit up, before Lelouch firmly pushed him back down.

"I mean just what I said. You're going to stay here and watch over things for me, besides… if you come with, the same thing as last time will happen, everyone will know who I am."

"But-"

"No, don't give me any 'buts' I've made up my mind. You're staying here." Lelouch headed towards the door slowly, but paused. "Oh… and Suzaku… when I get back… if it's alright with you, I'd like to hear the reason you tried to murder your father."

There was a bout of silence, before Lelouch left and once again Suzaku was trapped in his own mind, wondering where to go from here. From that day Suzaku decided… his mind was a scary place.

XxXxX

There were gunshots, smoke, burning fires. The battle had begun and Lelouch was sitting a safe distance away, cautiously watching Genbu who at the moment was watching the battle with him.

"How do you plan to win this boy?" Genbu asked, arms crossed over his chest as he watched his forces fighting in the distance.

Lelouch leaned back, crossing his legs and putting his chin in his hand. "My strategies are too complicated for you… Genbu."

He frowned unhappily at Lelouch's words, but said not a word. Lelouch wondered what was going on in the man's head right now. He had to be carefully. A few stay bullets shot their way, but both remained unflinching.

"Tell me" Lelouch began, keeping the lower half of his face hidden to hide his thoughts. "was it really worth it? You honestly thought you could win?"

"I did." Genbu stated. "I want Suzaku dead, but you already understand that part."

"What aren't you telling me?" Lelouch asked, unsure of what exactly to think about this new development. Who exactly should he trust? Surly Suzaku wouldn't have done what Genbu was saying he did, but… even if he had… why? He wouldn't have done it without a good reason.

Genbu smirked. "Isn't it obvious? He was jealous."

"Jealous? Of what? I have never seen Suzaku get jealous at all in all the time I've known him." Lelouch said calmly.

"You really want to know? I'll tell you…" He leaned over to Lelouch and whispered the dark secrete to him, Lelouch's eyes widened. No… it couldn't be. This… wasn't possible.

XxXxX

Meanwhile Suzaku was still lying there in his room nervously, thinking… worrying about his father. He had never been so terrified in his life when he saw that man again. Back from the dead. Like he was back to haunt him, but then again… didn't he deserve this?

Now he was alone while everyone else was off fighting. Was this even more punishment? It sure seemed to be that way. He glanced over at the I.V needle stuck in his arm. How many times would he have to deal with this? He swallowed hard, realizing how dry his throat was and he wondered why they set the water glass so far away.

He reached for it, but sighed and scooted closer to the edge. Almost, almost, his eyes widened as he realized he moved to far and was falling. He hit the ground hard and grabbed his leg, crying out suddenly at the agony that fall just caused him. It also ripped the I.V out and he could feel the small trickle of blood run down his arm.

He glanced around the empty room. Nobody was coming to check on him. Suzaku attempted to stand, but his leg was absolutely useless. He was stuck on the floor.

"Shit." He swore quietly. Seeing he had no other choice, he dragged himself over to the farthest wall and grabbed the set of crutches, however one fell and hit him in the head, he growled. "Damnit! Damnit all to hell!"

He sat there, breathing hard with anger and hold his head. Why was this happening to him? Finally he maneuvered himself onto his good leg and used the wall to help himself up. Now with the help of the crutches he could get out of the room. He slowly made his way out, peaking around the corner.

"Hello?" He called, but heard nothing. No response.

"Suzaku-san?" A soft meek voice asked and he turned, his eyes softened considerably. "What are you doing out of bed? And… you're bleeding."

"Nunnally…" He said softly. All his anger had melted. He could never be angry with her here, "I'm alright… just… where is everyone?"

"Well… I'm not sure." She answered.

"You mean you were left unattended?" He asked, outraged at the thought. She drove closer to him and the thought of murdering her nurse sounded very good.

"Everyone is away fighting, but Cecil and Lloyd are still here. Cecil was staying with me for awhile, but I told her I would be alright by myself for a bit since she had so much work to do."

"Oh." He didn't know what to say, so there were a few moments of silence. "Let me take you to your room."

She giggled a bit. "Suzaku-san… how?"

At that he looked down, remembering he was a bit crippled himself at the moment. "Forget about the how, I'll figure it out. Okay?"

So eventually the two battled and adventured their way to her room. Oh, what an adventure it was. Getting lost several times along the way in the very large base, running into stairs and dead ends, but finally the heroes had prevailed.

By the time they got their Suzaku was more then a little winded. Nunnally was rather worried about him doing so much while he was injured. He took a seat on the bed and breathed very slowly, trying to catch his breath and she rolled in front of him to take his hand gently.

"Suzaku?"

"Hmm?"

"Are… we going to tell Lelouch?" She asked and he sighed quietly, before taking her hand and pressing a gentle kiss to her palm and making her blush a bit.

"Eventually… I will. I promise, but now isn't a good time." He told her.

"If you're too afraid, I can tell him." She tried, but he lowered her hand and kissed her softly, silencing her.

"No. That isn't it." He said. "I just don't want him to be worried while he's out doing dangerous things. It would distract him."

"I suppose you're right."

He sighed again and leaned his forehead against hers. "Nunnally… I'm sorry. I know you don't like keeping things from him, but… it's only for a little while."

"What if he says no?"

"He can't say no. If he did… I'd… well… I'd just take you away with me anyway."

"Then… I wouldn't see Lelouch anymore…" She whispered and he disguised the hurt in his eyes with his next question.

"Nunnally… you don't have to be with me anymore…"

She quickly reached up a hand to the back of his neck, fisting her fingers in his hair to stop him from pulling away. "No. I do want to be with you. I just don't want brother to be mad at me."

"I know. He might be mad at me, but he'll never be mad at you. I was the one that agreed… I could have walked away… but I didn't. So blame me."

"I asked you to though."

"Look…" He started, running his fingers along her cheek. "let's not think about this right now. Later… I am going to take you out to the hill. It's a nice view… you'll be able to see it now."

"That would be nice."

XxXxX

The doors opened as the returning soldiers cheered, returning victorious from their battle with the Brits. It was joyful for everyone, except a few. Lelouch slowly walked to Suzaku's room to speak with him, but he frowned when he found it empty.

He clenched his fists and headed down the hallway, stopping at his sister's room. He opened the door and the two occupants looked up at him in surprise, their card game was now long forgotten.

"Brother you're back!" Nunnally was excited to see him alright. She wished she could stand and run to him.

Suzaku's smile faded when he saw the look on Lelouch's face. He slowly stood from the chair he had been sitting in and it drew Nunnally's attention, she set her cards down carefully on the table between them. It was a few moments of silence, before Lelouch walked up to him.

"Suzaku… let me see your back." Lelouch ordered.

"What?" Suzaku asked suddenly. "What are you talking about? why?"

"You son of a bitch." Lelouch said, seething and he faintly heard Nunnally's surprised gasp as she covered her mouth. "I spoke with your father."

"Yeah… look… Lelouch… I'm sorry. I was going to explain! I swear it! I-" He was cut off as Lelouch punched him, Lelouch held his hand and Suzaku could feel the blood starting to drip from his nose. Just as he brought a hand up to stop the blood, Lelouch kneed him in the crotch and Suzaku dropped to his knees, holding the afflicted area.

"Brother!" Nunnally gasped, not knowing what to do, but unable to keep silent anymore.

"You slept with Nunnally!" Lelouch shouted. It was a statement, not a question. "Your father talked to me about the reason you stabbed him as well!"

"Lelouch!" Nunnally tried, but he was ignoring her.

"It isn't what it seems." Suzaku stated, voice slightly higher in pitch as he winced in pain. "Please… listen to me!"

"Suzaku, you've stabbed me in the back! I trusted you to protect her!" Lelouch ground out. "I should have you killed for this."

"Brother… I asked him to." Nunnally cut in and this time Lelouch froze. "He didn't really want to, but… because I asked… he was only doing what I wanted…"

"Nunnally… I…" Lelouch was at a loss for words.

"Lelouch… please… whatever my father says… don't trust him." Suzaku begged.

"Your father told me about you and Nunnally… not this, but before this."

"No. no… that's all a lie… I wasn't jealous of my father and Nunnally, Lelouch… I stabbed him… because he was going to rape her." Suzaku whispered his last words. "I swear it's true. Lelouch… please believe me! You know me! You know I wouldn't have stabbed my own father without a good reason!"

He was silent for a moment or so as he regarded the words, Suzaku was his best friend and Genbu was a coldhearted man from what he knew. Even Nunnally was too shocked to speak, apparently she didn't know either.

"Suzaku… why weren't you honest with me from the beginning?" Lelouch asked.

"Because… I wanted to pretend I hadn't killed my father. If I said it out loud… it made it true." He replied quietly, catching his breath finally.

"Suzaku…" Nunnally started. "Then… that means… that day… your father wasn't drunk… and you weren't putting him to bed… were you?"

"No, Nunnally… I was not. I am so sorry." Suzaku hung his head low, unable to speak anymore. It was another tense moment or two of silence. Lelouch stood there and looked from one to the other, there was nothing he could do to change any of it now.

"I have to be somewhere right now, but I will be back and we will talk more about this." Lelouch stated firmly, just as he made it to the door he heard Suzaku.

"Wait, Lelouch…" He slowly stood up. "I want to marry your sister."

This had him stopping in his tracks, he set his hand on the door frame and looked over his shoulder at them, before looking back ahead of him.

"Is that so, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked, the answer was a swift yes. "And Nunnally… are you happy with Suzaku?"

"I am very happy with Suzaku-san…"

"Alright. You will make this right, Suzaku. You will marry her, because you don't have any other choice." With those finally words he left the room. Now that he had the full story… it was time to figure out what to do with Genbu.

XxXxX

TBC...

Well... that's one thing solved. Happily at least, but now... they have to deal with Genbu and Lelouch's own evil father. What awaits our heros!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclamier: I do not own this show.

A/N Alright. The last and final chapter. It seems everyone lost interest in this story, so I decided to end it already. I know, the end is dreadfully horrible and could have been better, but... it was this or it would never get finished. I apologize ahead of time for the sucky ending.

XxXxX

The final battle was right around the corner, the gunfire had already begun and Suzaku stared out the window, longing for freedom to get out there and fight besides his fellow soldiers, but… Lelouch wouldn't have it.

"Suzaku…" Nunnally said, shivering at the sudden boom of thunder, he quickly stepped in front of her and kneeled, taking her hand.

"What is it, Nunnally?"

"Suzaku, I think brother is planning to do something bad."

"Nunnally?" He was confused now.

"Suzaku… please… you have to stop him."

A door boomed open from the main room and there was a lot of loud cheering, Suzaku slowly got up and opened the door, eyes growing wide in surprise when he saw Lelouch march in with Charles bound and held by two soldiers.

Lelouch ordered the men to drop Charles on the ground and back up.

"Kill the bastard!" A soldier shouted loudly, earning many others to cheer the same thing. With only his most trusted officers in the room Lelouch removed his mask and tossed it aside.

"Do you remember me?" Lelouch asked and Charles scoffed.

"Of course… only you could have out done me. And what are you going to do kill me?"

"I am going to bring justice to you."

Charles laughed sarcastically. "And what would a BOY know about justice?" He mocked and Lelouch's eyes grew wide and he shook in anger.

"Do not mock me! I have outsmarted you haven't I?"

"A minor miscalculation on my part." Charles replied, farther enraging Lelouch and his finger started to squeeze the trigger, making Charles smirk. Men were shouting for Lelouch to pull the trigger again.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku shouted, pushing past the men, wincing as something hit his still sore wound as he passed by a soldier. "Don't do this."

"Suzaku, leave. I have this under control." Lelouch ordered.

"Don't do this."

"Do not tell me what to do! You cannot order me around, Suzaku."

"I'm not trying to, Lelouch."

"Oh, then what exactly is it you're trying to do?" Lelouch asked, fire burning in his eyes.

"I know how you think! I know you think the means justify the means, but aching things through immoral means are meaningless!"

"Are you willing to say that, even after I tell you this man killed your father on the field?"

Suzaku was dumbfounded by the words, but he swallowed hard and shook his head. "It doesn't matter… Lelouch… you can't."

"He's right brother!" Nunnally spoke up from behind Suzaku and they both turned to her surprised. "It isn't right."

"Nunnally, go back to your room." Lelouch told her, but she shook her head.

"No, brother… this isn't right, please don't do such a terrible thing."

"He's a horrible man Nunnally! You want to see such a creature live?!"

"He's still our father." She whispered.

"Lelouch," Suzaku began. "If you do this… you'll be no better then he is… I think everyone would benefit better from his incarceration."

"How do you know that!?" Lelouch asked, shouting in Suzaku's face and Suzaku sighed.

"I don't know that, Lelouch, but… I do know… if you do this… you won't be able to change it… but… you'll destroy your own life in the process…"

There was a long silence and Lelouch cocked the gun and approached his father, the man cackled darkly and three gunshots sounded through the room, followed by the shells falling to the ground and sounding much louder then they should have.

Charles opened his eyes to see his son had shot the floor right besides him. "Coward."

"Take him away!" Lelouch ordered and the guards did so quickly, while Lelouch turned his back on them, Nunnally rolled up and hugged her brother.

"You did the right thing."

"I hope so Suzaku. I really do." He hugged his sister briefly. "Suzaku, please take Nunnally to her room to get some rest. I think… I will retire myself."

Suzaku complied and Lelouch slowly walked to his room. Once he was in he flicked on the lights to find CC there with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"Ah, there's the hero now."

"The chess game may be over when the king is taken out, but there is still a lot of rebuilding to do." He stated, removing his heavy cape and tossing it onto the bed.

CC nodded and poured him a cup, he sat down across from her and took the cup, sighing deeply. "You did good. More then I would have expected, but I saw it in your eyes. I knew you could win."

"Oh?" He flicked the white king over on the chess board, before taking a sip of the wine. "I suppose if Nunnally believed I made the right choice… I made the right choice."

"You know best." She replied, taking a sip of her own glass.

"This is all for Nunnally and Suzaku after all. I'm sure they know what was right back there. I am going to rebuild things for them. A peaceful society."

"It's human nature, Lelouch. You may be able to keep the peace for a time being, but men are greedy. There will always be war. You can't change that."

"No… I suppose I can't." He looked down thoughtfully.

"We can only do our best." CC said softly and he nodded absently.

"I wish… I could make a gentle world for Nunnally." Lelouch stated.

"You'll do your best. I know you."

"Thank you CC, for being by my side throughout this."

"I wanted my country back as much as you want peace."

"Only one of us got what we wanted." Lelouch said.

"Not everything."

"Oh?"

"There's one more thing, Lelouch." CC said and he raised an eyebrow, she leaned forward across the table and kissed him, before pulling back. "Now… I'm pleased."

He chuckled. "You never cease to amaze me." He grinned at her.

"Of course not, it's the international woman of mysteries job after all." She laughed lightly, causing him to do the same.

"What would I do without you?"

"Be trapped in some trench somewhere all alone crying?"

"Probably." He replied, leaning back in his chair and watching the rain drops hitting the window. "And now… the rain will wash the blood away… and tomorrow we start anew. For a better world." he held up his glass and she met it with her own.

"For a better world."

XxXxX

End


End file.
